A consideration of the religious ideas of the Eskimo shows that the
tornait, the invisible rulers of every object, are the most remarkable
beings next to Sedna. Everything has its inua (owner), which may become
the genius of man who thus obtains the qualities of angakunirn. I am not
quite sure that every inua can become the tornaq of a man, though with
the Greenlanders this was possible. I learned of three kinds of spirits
only, who are protectors of angakut: those in the shape of men, of
stones, and of bears. These spirits enable the angakut to have
intercourse with the others who are considered malevolent to mankind,
and though those three species are kind to their angakut they would hurt
strangers who might happen to see them. The bear seems to be the most
powerful among these spirits. The tornait of the stones live in the
large bowlders scattered over the country. The Eskimo believe that these
rocks are hollow and form a nice house, the entrance of which is only
visible to the angakoq whose genius lives in the stone. The tornaq is a
woman with only one eye, in the middle of the brow. Another kind of
tornaq lives in the stones that roll down the hills in spring when the
snow begins to melt. If a native happens to meet such a stone, which is
about to become his tornaq, the latter addresses him: “I jumped down in
long leaps from my place on the cliff. As the snow melts, as water is
formed on the hills, I jump down.” Then it asks the native whether he is
willing to have it for his tornaq, and if he answers in the affirmative
it accompanies him, wabbling along, as it has no legs.
The bear tornaq is represented as a huge animal without any hair except
on the points of the ears and of the tail and at the mouth. If a man
wishes to obtain a bear for his tornaq he must travel all alone to the
edge of the land floe and summon the bears. Then a large herd will
approach and frighten him almost to death. He falls down at once. Should
he fall backward he would die at once. If he falls upon his face,
however, one bear out of the herd steps forward and asks him if he
wishes him to become his tornaq. He then recovers and takes the bear for
his spirit and is accompanied by him on the return journey. On the way
home, they pass a seal hole and the bear captures the animal for his
master. The Eskimo is now a great angakoq, and whenever he wants help he
is sure to get it from his bear.
The Eskimo do not make images of the tornait or other supernatural
beings in whom they believe, but use to a great extent amulets
(arngoaq), some of which are given by the tornait, while others are
inherited. The most common varieties of amulets are the feather of an
owl, a bear’s tooth, and the like, which are always worn on the middle
of the back of the inner jacket. Rare minerals (e.g., iron) sewed up in
a piece of skin are sometimes used for the same purpose. A small part of
the first gown worn by a child is considered a powerful amulet and is
preserved for this reason. It is worn at the point of the hood at a
great feast celebrated every fall (see pp. 604, 611) and is called
koukparmiutang.
Lyon (p. 367) gives the following account of the use of amulets in
Iglulik:
Bones and teeth of animals, hanging as solitary pendants, or
strung in great numbers, have peculiar virtues, and the bones of
the feet of the kabliaqdjuq, which I imagine to be the wolverine,
are the most in request. The front teeth of musk oxen are
considered as jewels, while the grinders, one or two together, are
much esteemed as tassels for the strings used to tie up the
breeches of the women. Eye teeth of foxes are sometimes seen to
the number of hundreds, neatly perforated and arranged as a kind
of fringe round caps or dresses, and even the bones and teeth of
fish have their value.
Leather cases of the size of a quill, and containing small pieces
of deer’s or other flesh, are frequently attached to the caps or
hoods of children, but whether to render them expert hunters, or
to preserve their health, I could not discover. I was assured that
broken spear heads, and other equally cumbrous pendants, worn
round the necks of young girls, were spells for the preservation
of their chastity, while the same ornaments caused the women to be
prolific.
The principal office of the angakut is to find out the reason of
sickness and death or of any other misfortune visiting the natives.
The Eskimo believes that he is obliged to answer the angakoq’s questions
truthfully. The lamps being lowered, the angakoq strips off his outer
jacket, pulls the hood over his head, and sits down in the back part of
the hut facing the wall. He claps his hands, which are covered with
mittens, and, shaking his whole body, utters sounds which one would
hardly recognize as human.
Thus he invokes his tornaq, singing and shouting alternately, the
listeners, who sit on the edge of the bed, joining the chorus and
answering his questions. Then he asks the sick person: “Did you work
when it was forbidden?” “Did you eat when you were not allowed to eat?”
And if the poor fellow happens to remember any transgression of such
laws, he cries: “Yes, I have worked.” “Yes, I have eaten.” And the
angakoq rejoins “I thought so” and issues his commands as to the manner
of atonement.
These are manifold. Exchange of wives between two men or adoption of a
sick child by another family in order to save its life are frequently
demanded. The inhabitants of a village are forbidden to wash themselves
for a number of days, to scrape the ice from the windows, and to clean
their urine pots before sunrise. Sometimes the angakoq commands that the
clothing be thrown away or gives regulations for diet, particularly
forbidding the eating of venison, working on deerskins, filing iron, &c.
Disorders of women are considered as a punishment for the neglect to
observe the regulations referring to their behavior at certain periods,
which regulations were established by Sedna. The same is stated by Lyon
(p. 363).
A method of finding out the reason of a disease is by “head lifting.”
A thong is tied round the head of the sick person or of a relative, who
must lie down on the bed, the angakoq holding the thong. Then he asks
his tornaq the reason of the sickness and the remedy. If the tornaq
answers a question of the angakoq in the affirmative the head is easily
lifted. In the other case it feels so heavy that he is unable to move
it. Another method is by lifting a boot or a stone, which has been
placed under the pillow of the patient. The angakut believe that the
boot or stone becomes heavy and cannot be lifted when the tornaq answers
their incantations.
At the beginning of some of their performances I have observed the
angakoq crawling about in the passage of the hut, howling and shouting,
while those inside kept on singing. Then he entered the hut and
continued the incantations on the back part of the bed.
Sometimes their cure for sickness is laying a piece of burning wick upon
the diseased part of the body and blowing it up into the air or merely
blowing upon it.
Storm and bad weather, when lasting a long time and causing want of
food, are conjured by making a large whip of seaweed, stepping to the
beach, and striking out in the direction whence the wind blows, at the
same time crying Taba (It is enough).
A great number of the performances of the angakut require much skill and
expertness. Thus in invoking a tornaq or flying to a distant place they
can imitate a distant voice by a sort of ventriloquism. In these
performances they always have the lamps extinguished and hide themselves
behind a screen hung up in the back part of the hut. The tornaq, being
invoked, is heard approaching and shaking the hut. The angakoq believes
that it is unroofed and flies with his spirit to their place of
destination, to propitiate the wrath of a hostile tornaq, to visit the
moon or Sedna’s dismal abode.
Part of their performances might almost be called juggling. Hall (II, p.
101) describes one of these performances:
The angakoq (Ar-too-a) now made use of three walrus spears. One of
these he thrust into the wall of the snow house, and * * * ran
with it outside of the igdlu [house] where his ejaculations were
responded to by the party inside with the cries of “Atte! Atte!”
[Go on! Go on!]. Returning with his spear to the door, he had a
severe wrestling match with four of the men, who overcame him. But
coming again into the central igdlu, and having the lights which
had been at the first patted down, relit, he showed the points of
two spears apparently covered with fresh blood, which he held up
in the presence of all.
The performance of the angakut in the Sedna feast, which will be
described hereafter (p. 604) is quite astonishing. Some pierce their
bodies with harpoons, evidently having bladders filled with blood
fastened under their jackets beforehand, and bleed profusely as they
enter the hut. (See Appendix, Note 5.)
A memorable ceremony has been described by Hall (I, p. 469):
I heard a loud shout just outside [the hut]. As quick as thought,
the Eskimo sprang for the long knives lying around, and hid them
wherever they could find places. * * * Immediately there came
crawling into the low entrance to the hut a man with long hair
completely covering his face and eyes. He remained on his knees on
the floor of the hut, feeling round like a blind man at each side
of the entrance, back of the firelight, the place where meat is
usually kept, and where knives may generally be found. Not finding
any, the angakoq slowly withdrew. * * * If he had found a knife he
would have stabbed himself in the breast.
It is one of their favorite tricks to have their hands tied up and a
thong fastened around their knees and neck. Then they begin invoking
their tornaq, and all of a sudden the body lies motionless while the
soul flies to any place which they wish to visit. After returning, the
thongs are found untied, though they had been fastened by firm knots.
The resemblance of this performance to the experiments of modern
spiritualists is striking.
The angakut use a sacred language in their songs and incantations.
A great number of words have a symbolic meaning, but others are old
roots, which have been lost from common use in the lapse of time. These
archaic words are very interesting from a linguistic point of view.
Indeed, some are found which are still in use in Greenland, though lost
in the other dialects, and others which are only used in Alaska.
I ought to add here that most of the angakut themselves believe in their
performances, as by continued shouting and invoking they fall into an
ecstasy and really imagine they accomplish the flights and see the
spirits.
The angakoq, who must be paid at once for curing a sick person, receives
pretty large fees for services of this kind.
Although witchcraft occupied a prominent place in the belief of the
Greenlanders I could only find very faint traces of it in Baffin Land,
to wit, the opinion that a man has the power of injuring a distant enemy
by some means the details of which I did not learn.
I shall add here the numerous regulations referring to eating and
working, many of which are connected with the Sedna tradition, and the
observance of which is watched by the angakut. As all sea animals have
originated from her fingers the Eskimo must make an atonement for every
animal he kills. When a seal is brought into the hut the women must stop
working until it is cut up. After the capture of a ground seal, walrus,
or whale they must rest for three days. Not all kinds of work, however,
are forbidden, for they are allowed to mend articles made of sealskin,
but they must not make anything new. For instance, an old tent cover may
be enlarged in order to build a larger hut, but it is not permitted to
make a new one. Working on new deerskins is strictly forbidden. No skins
of this kind obtained in summer may be prepared before the ice has
formed and the first seal is caught with the harpoon. Later, as soon as
the first walrus is caught, the work must stop again until the next
fall. For this reason all families are eager to finish the work on
deerskins as quickly as possible, as the walrusing season is not
commenced until that is done.
The laws prohibiting contact with deer and sea animals at the same time
are very strict. According to the Eskimo themselves Sedna dislikes the
deer (probably for some reason connected with the tradition of its
origin,) and therefore they are not allowed to bring it in contact with
her favorites. The meat of the whale, seal, or walrus must not be eaten
on the same day with venison. It is not permitted that both sorts of
meat lie on the floor of the hut or behind the lamps at the same time.
If a man who has eaten venison in the morning happens to enter a hut in
which seal meat is being cooked he is allowed to eat venison on the bed,
but it must be wrapped up before being carried into the hut and he must
take care to keep clear of the floor. Before changing from one food to
the other the Eskimo must wash themselves. For the same reason walrus
hide must not be carried to Lake Nettilling, which is considered the
domain of deer.
A similar custom requires that the Ukusiksalirmiut carry salmon into a
hut by a separate entrance, for it must not pass through the same one as
seal oil. Besides, the fish must only be cooked at the distance of a
day’s journey from the place where they have been caught. If eaten on
the spot they must be eaten raw (Klutschak, p. 158).
Their customs referring to hunting are manifold. When skinning a deer
they must not break a single bone; then, they cut off bits of different
parts of the animal and bury them in the ground or under stones (Hall I,
p. 386). I have never noticed this custom myself. On the west shore of
Hudson Bay dogs are not allowed to gnaw deer bones during the deer
hunting season or seal bones during the sealing season (Klutschak, p.
123). Deer bones must not be broken while walrus are hunted (Hall II,
p. 155).
When the men go out hunting in their kayaks the women of the
Aivillirmiut take a cup down to the shore and leave it there, believing
that it will bring luck (Hall II, p. 103). On Davis Strait they throw a
piece of seal’s blubber on their husband’s kayak when he is about to go
hunting (Kumlien, p. 45). After the capture of a whale the Aivillirmiut
are not allowed to burn shrubs, but use bones of the whale instead,
which are mixed with blubber (Hall II, p. 364). If an animal that is
with young is killed the fetus must not be taken and used for food (Hall
II, p. 253). When a bear is caught the Nugumiut and the Oqomiut are
accustomed to fasten its bladder to a stick which is placed upright near
the hut or encampment for three days.
When a house is deserted the Aivillirmiut are in the habit of carrying
all the bones lying inside to some distance and putting them upon the
ice (Hall II, p. 175). If they intend to move to a place some distance
away they are in the habit of burying some of their clothing. Klutschak
observed this custom among the Netchillirmiut; I myself, among the
Akudnirmiut. If a great number of families leave a village those who
remain build new houses, as they believe that they would otherwise have
bad luck in hunting.
A great number of regulations refer to the behavior of women during
menstruation. They are not allowed to eat raw meat, they must cook in
separate pots, and are not permitted to join in festivals, being looked
upon as unclean during this period. Customs referring to childbirth and
sickness will be found further on (see p. 609).
When a traveling party visits a neighboring tribe it is obliged to adopt
the customs and regulations of the latter.
This account does not by any means include all the peculiar customs of
these people, for they are so numerous and the difficulty of finding out
anything pertaining to this subject is so great that it is probable that
the greater part of them have escaped notice.
I shall also mention a few customs that are peculiar to certain places.
At Qeqertelung, east of Naujateling, in Cumberland Sound, the Eskimo dig
potstone, but must buy it from the rock: that is, having dug out a
piece, they must give the rock something in exchange; for example, ivory
carvings, beads, food, or the like.
At Arligaulik, near Wager River, the Eskimo address a large rock and bid
it farewell when passing (Hall II, p. 174).
In Cumberland Sound there is a cape called Iliqimisarbing, i.e., the
place of headshaking. The place is very dangerous, as heavy squalls
sweep down the steep rocks and slides frequently occur. Therefore the
natives never pass it without shaking their heads, at the same time
uttering a deep murmur.
Besides the tornait already mentioned, a number of others are known
which cannot become genii of men. A spirit of the sea, Kalopaling or
Mitiling, is described in a tradition (see p. 620). In Erdmann’s
Wörterbuch des Labradordialectes “Mitiling” is translated Gespenst,
i.e., ghost. No doubt it is the name of the same spirit or at least of a
similar one which is recognized among the northern tribes, the literal
translation being “with eider ducks.” Another spirit of which the
natives are in great fear is Qiqirn, a phantom in the shape of a huge
dog almost without hair. Like the bear which has been alluded to, it has
hair only at the mouth, the feet, and the points of the ears and the
tail. If it comes near dogs or men they fall into fits and only recover
when Qiqirn has left. It is exceedingly afraid of men and runs away as
soon as an angakoq descries it.
A very remarkable tornaq is the qaggim inua, i.e., master of the dancing
house. The natives build large houses for feasting, singing, and
dancing, which are devoted to spirits. This tornaq has the shape of a
bandy legged man, his knees being bent outward and forward. He has not a
single hair upon his entire body and no bones at the back of his head.
To touch him would result in immediate death (see p. 636).
Besides these tornait, more powerful supernatural beings are known, who
are “owners” (inua) of the stars and constellations and of meteorologic
processes. Moon and sun are considered brother and sister, and in this
the tradition of the Central Eskimo exactly corresponds with that of the
Greenlanders. It is even known among the Eskimo of Point Barrow
(Simpson, p. 940). From Repulse Bay (Aivillirmiut) a few scanty traces
of this tradition are recorded by Rae (I, p. 79). He relates as follows:
It is said that many years ago, not long after the creation of the
world, there was a mighty conjurer, who gained so much power that
at last he raised himself up into the heavens, taking with him his
sister (a beautiful girl) and a fire. To the latter he added great
quantities of fuel, which thus formed the sun. For some time he
and his sister lived in great harmony, but at last they disagreed,
and he, in addition to maltreating the lady in many ways, at last
scorched the side of her face. She had suffered patiently all
sorts of indignities, but the spoiling of her beauty was not to be
borne; she therefore ran away from him and formed the moon, and
continues so until this day. Her brother is still in chase of her,
but although he gets near, he will never overtake her. When it is
new moon, the burnt side of the face is towards us; when full
moon, the reverse is the case.
The following form of the legend, which I received from some Akudnirmiut
and Oqomiut, is almost identical with the Greenland one:
In olden times a brother and his sister lived in a large village in
which there was a singing house, and every night the sister with her
playfellows enjoyed themselves in this house. Once upon a time, when all
the lamps in the singing house were extinguished, somebody came in and
outraged her. She was unable to recognize him; but she blackened her
hands with soot and when the same again happened besmeared the man’s
back with it. When the lamps were relighted she saw that the violator
was her brother. In great anger she sharpened a knife and cut off her
breasts, which she offered to him, saying: “Since you seem to relish me,
eat this.” Her brother fell into a passion and she fled from him,
running about the room. She seized a piece of wood (with which the lamps
are kept in order) which was burning brightly and rushed out of the
house. The brother took another one, but in his pursuit he fell down and
extinguished his light, which continued to glow only faintly. Gradually
both were lifted up and continued their course in the sky, the sister
being transformed into the sun, the brother into the moon. Whenever the
new moon first appears she sings:
Aningaga tapika, takirn tapika qaumidjatedlirpoq; qaumatitaudle.
Aningaga tapika, tikipoq tapika.
(My brother up there, the moon up there begins to shine;
he will be bright.
My brother up there, he is coming up there.)